101 World Proverbs to help you reflect on life

If you’re looking for some inspirational world proverbs to help you reflect on life and its meaning, then I’ve curated 101 of them just for you, dear reader.

There are some excellent world proverbs here that’ll make you think and hopefully give you greater insight into life, its meaning, and different communities’ philosophies everywhere.

Proverbs contain the wisdom of the ancients and provide useful reminders that people everywhere are just the same. We’re all just trying to get through life as best we can.

So enjoy them all and feel free to pass them on.

World Proverbs (1-20):

1. If there’s no wind, row. ~Latin Proverb
2. Talk doesn’t cook rice. ~Chinese Proverb
3. A half-truth is a whole lie. ~Yiddish Proverb
4. A friend’s eye is a good mirror. ~Irish Proverb
5. Honour is better than honours. ~Belgian Proverb
6. Hope is the bread of the poor. ~Turkish Proverb
7. Not my circus. Not my monkeys. ~Polish Proverb
8. Hospitality is one form of worship. ~Jewish Proverb
9. Conscience is the voice of the soul. ~Polish Proverb
10. A wheel that turns gathers no rust. ~Greek Proverb
11. Sunshine all the time makes a desert. ~Arab Proverb
12. All married women are not wives. ~Japanese Proverb
13. He that falls by himself never cries. ~Turkish Proverb
14. No road is long with good company. ~Turkish Proverb
15. Who lies for you will lie against you. ~Bosnian Proverb
16. Real gold does not fear the furnace. ~Chinese Proverb
17. Work like an ant and you’ll eat sugar. ~Yemeni Proverb
18. A bad tree does not yield good apples. ~Danish Proverb
19. A good deed dies when it’s spoken about. ~Arab Proverb
20. He that knows patience knows peace. ~Chinese Proverb

World Proverbs (21-40):

21. A fish gets bigger when it gets away. ~Japanese Proverb
22. Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is. ~German proverb
23. You won’t gain knowledge by drinking ink. ~Arab Proverb
24. You cannot strike a face that is smiling. ~Korean Proverb
25. Money buys everything but good sense. ~Yiddish Proverb
26. The real hero doesn’t say that he’s one. ~Filipino Proverb
27. Five fingers are brothers but not equals. ~Afghan Proverb
28. Fear an ignorant man more than a lion. ~Kurdish Proverb
29. A bad son gives his mother a bad name. ~Ivorian Proverb
30. Eat what is cooked, listen to what is said. Russian Proverb
31. A good meal ought to begin with hunger. ~French Proverb
32. He who puts up with insult invites injury. ~Jewish Proverb
33. Do not push the river, it will flow by itself. ~Polish Proverb
34. Save money and money will save you. ~Jamaican Proverb
35. Always leave a little room for a mistake. ~Chinese Proverb
36. Against stupidity, God himself is helpless. ~Jewish Proverb
37. Many a time a man’s mouth broke his nose. ~Irish Proverb
38. Do not be wise in words, be wise in deeds. ~Jewish Proverb
39. Put off for one day and ten days will pass. ~Korean Proverb
40. The blind cannot see. The proud will not. ~Russian Proverb

World Proverbs (41-60):

41. What is cheap is always the most costly. ~German Proverb
42. A silent man is the best one to listen to. ~Japanese Proverb
43. For every wise man, there’s one still wiser. ~Kurdish Proverb
44. A lie has no author, nor a liar a conscience. ~Indian Proverb
45. The usefulness of a cup is in its emptiness. ~Chinese Proverb
46. The frog forgets that he was once a tadpole. ~Korean Proverb
47. Loose tongues are worse than wicked hands. ~Jewish Proverb
48. The beard does not make the philosopher. ~American Proverb
49. He that speaks, sows; He that hears, reaps. ~Turkish Proverb
50. Better an honest enemy than a false friend. ~German Proverb
51. A wooden bed is better than a golden coffin. ~Russian Proverb
52. There’s nothing so bad that it couldn’t be worse. ~Irish Proverb
53. Cast no dirt into the well that gives you water. ~Korean Proverb
54. He who never doubts doesn’t know anything. ~Spanish Proverb
55. Patience is a bitter plant, but its fruit is sweet. ~Chinese Proverb
56. He who wants the rose must respect the thorn. ~Persian Proverb
57. Birds are caught with seed, men with money. ~Armenian Proverb
58. If you want to build high, you must dig deep. ~Mongolian Proverb
59. If you’re going to seek revenge, dig two graves. ~Chinese Proverb
60. There’s no greater fraud than a promise not kept. ~Gaelic Proverb

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World Proverbs (61-80):

61. A hungry wolf is stronger than a satisfied dog. ~Ukrainian Proverb
62. Listen with one ear; be suspicious with the other. ~Laotian Proverb
63. A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle. ~Italian Proverb
64. The riches that are in the heart cannot be stolen. ~Russian Proverb
65. If there’s a way into the wood, there’s also a way out. ~Irish Proverb
66. Ask the experienced rather than the learned. ~Saudi Arabian Proverb
67. You’ll never plough a field by turning it over in your mind. ~Irish Proverb
68. A friend you have to buy; enemies you get for nothing. ~Jewish Proverb
69. Lower your voice and strengthen your argument. ~Lebanese Proverb
70. People show their character by what they laugh at. ~German Proverb
71. Many complain of their looks, but none of their brains. ~Yiddish Proverb
72. You can’t wake a person who’s pretending to be asleep. ~Navajo Proverb
73. When a habit begins to cost money, it’s called a hobby. ~Jewish Proverb
74. Why would you use poison if you can kill with money? ~Bosnian Proverb
75. A dog will always be a dog, even if he is raised by lions. ~Lebanese Proverb
76. It’s the same life whether we spend it laughing or crying. ~Japanese Proverb
77. A closed mouth and open eyes never did anyone any harm. ~German Proverb
78. Better to be guilty in the eyes of men than in the eyes of God. ~Malagasy Proverb
79. A fool says what he knows, and a wise man knows what he says. ~Yiddish Proverb
80. He who returns from a journey is not the same as he who left. ~Chinese Proverb

World Proverbs (81-90):

81. A man who has confidence in himself gains the confidence of others. ~Jewish Proverb
82. A light is still a light, even though the blind man cannot see it. ~Austrian Proverb
83. The glory is not in never falling but in rising every time you fall. ~Chinese Proverb
84. Who has not tasted what is bitter does not know what is sweet. ~German Proverb
85. Teachers open the door but you must walk through it yourself. ~Chinese Proverb
86. A woman prefers a man without money to money without a man. ~Greek Proverb
87. The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. ~Chinese Proverb
88. If you don’t have time to do it right, you must have time to do it over. ~Russian Proverb
89. If you do not experience anything, it’s impossible to gain knowledge. ~Chinese Proverb
90. Better to write down something one time than to read something ten times. ~Japanese Proverb

World Proverbs (91-101):

91. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. ~Chinese Proverb
92. A clean mouth and an honest hand will take a man through any land. ~German Proverb
93. Don’t let your mouth carry you where your foot can’t bring you back from. ~Bahamian Proverb
94. Never trust the man who tells you all his troubles but keeps from you all his joys. ~Jewish Proverb
95. We count our miseries carefully and accept our blessings without much thought. ~Chinese Proverb
96. A wise man makes his own decisions; an ignorant man follows public opinion. ~Chinese Proverb
97. The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour. ~Japanese Proverb
98. The man who gives little with a smile gives more than the man who gives much with a frown. ~Jewish Proverb
99. Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. ~Chinese Proverb
100. The secret to living well and longer is eating half, walking double, laughing triple, and loving without measure. ~Tibetan Proverb
101. We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, learn, grow, love, and return home. ~Indigenous Australian Proverb

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